Today in History

1492 – Christopher Columbus sights Cuba and claims it for Spain under the name Isla Juana.

1726 – Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift, is published.

1835 – Thirty-four northern chiefs sign a document known in English as the Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand, under which the British Crown promises to protect Māori.

1886 – The Statue of Liberty, right, is dedicated in New York harbour by US President Grover Cleveland.

1890 – NZ marks its first Labour Day, in recognition of the campaign for an eight-hour working day.

1919 – US Congress enacts the Volstead Act, which provides for enforcement of prohibition, over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto.

1922 – Italian fascists march on Rome, leading to the assumption of power by Benito Mussolini.

1940 – Italy invades Greece.

1954 – Nobel Prize for Literature is awarded to Ernest Hemingway.

1962 – Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev announces withdrawal of Soviet missiles from Cuba.

1971 – Britain’s House of Commons votes in favour of entry into the European Common Market.

1998 – Ted Hughes, British poet laureate, dies, aged 68.

2003 – Former Reserve Bank governor Don Brash becomes leader of the National Party.

2011 – Commonwealth countries agree to change centuries-old rules of succession that put sons on the British throne before older sisters.

2017 – Spain’s central government imposes direct rule on Catalonia, dismisses its government and calls for new elections.

Birthdays

Evelyn Waugh, UK novelist (1903-66); Ella Campbell, NZ botanist (19102003); Jonas Salk, US virologist (191495); Merwyn Norrish, NZ diplomat (1926-2021); Caitlyn Jenner, US athlete/ reality TV star (1949-); Bill Gates, US businessman (1955-); Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iranian politician (1956-); Julia Roberts, US actor (1967-).